Christian Vander - "Offering: Part 1 / Part 2" It had been a while since Magma left us with "Merci", and this, the first true Vander solo project finally appeared in 1986. Musically, Vander began exploring some undeveloped territory, as evidenced by the opening cut "Offering (Part One)", where Stella's lead voice croons over plentiful piano rolls, almost mysteriously. With more focus on the exploration and composition, Vander would take to the drums less frequently (about a third of the album). Other musicians include Guy Khalifa (vocals, flute, keys), Simon Goubert (rhodes/piano), and Pierre Marcault (congas, assorted percussion). With an album as unfocused as this, you can expect it to be very hit or miss. The groove of "Earth" is infectious, but other tracks like "Joia" are loaded with unnecessary repetition and lack motivation. The jazz and soul elements became more of an interest to Vander at this point in his life, and the album shows that as well. Why he always seems to move into English lyrics at the soulful spots remains a mystery. While the goal of venturing into new territories is admirable, the end result is one that fails as often as it succeeds. Christian Vander - "To Love" Welcome to Christian and Stella's living room...This is positively the most minimalist of all Vander's solo efforts. Christian and spouse Stella are the only musicians featured here (Stella only appears on one cut), and Christian only plays piano, Rhodes, and Yamaha DX7 except on the last tune "XMC" where he finally gets behind the drum kit. Even then the music is not much more than simple piano chord progressions with delicately sung vocals lilting around on top of it. It's always interesting to hear Vander manipulate his voice into that screechy high falsetto, in fact it's almost hard to believe that's a human sound. But you can get that on any Magma album in moderation. Here it goes on for very long lengths of time, in awkward bluesy explorations. Clearly this is an album of passion and love expressed by one for the other, and in that sense it is somewhat effective but only interesting the first few times around. Christian Vander Trio - "Jour Apres Jour" "Jour Apres Jour" (Day After Day) would be Vander's first all-out pure jazz assault. The trio formation of Vander on drums, Emmanuel Borghi on piano, and Philippe Dardelle on acoustic bass have all worked with each other on other Vander efforts, but here they burn through 4 jazz numbers as if they've been playing jazz together in clubs for 20 years or more. Vander's title track opens the album in a moving and hurried manner, only to be followed by the 27-minute centerpiece "Dear Mac" by Michel Graillier. Here the trio stretches out to the extreme, but the overall mood and performance is completely consistent with the previous track and the other two to follow. There is no real fusion element here, it is pure jazz with the acoustic spirit prevalent in the 60's. Sherman's "Chim Chim Cheree" and Coltrane's "Like Sonny" (of course Vander always takes time out to honor his one true idol) complete the set, at which point you'll feel like it's time to drive home....the pseudo-live atmosphere is very engulfing. This is really not much different than the newer release "65!" and fans of pure jazz will find this set beyond satisfactory. If nothing else, it is a testament to the breadth of Vander's talents and drive. Christian Vander - "Offering III-IV" Although this was released 4 years after the first Offering album, this Offering picks up right where that one left off, and is in many ways not much different at all. Only three tracks here, the dominant one being the 44-minute "Another Day." Notwithstanding some fine moments, the hardest thing to swallow in this track are the dismal English lyrics sung over a mediocre soul/dance groove. Thankfully, this theme only appears at the start and end of the piece. The jazz element is stronger here, too, with fellow members of the Christian Vander Trio performing on bass and piano (Philippe Dardelle and Emmanuel Borghi). Most of the musicians from the first "Offering" return on this one too. The last two tracks "Ehn Deiss" and "Offering (2)" sound exactly like leftover material from the first project. Again, another hit or miss album which aims to experiment and explore new ground, but does so armed with compositions too weak to make the journey fruitful. Magma - "Les Voix" Not so much a true Magma album as it is a choral interpretation of some old Magma music. With no less than 9 vocalists (lead by Christian and Stella Vander), the choir (about half male, half female) is lightly backed by two pianists/keyboardists (Pierre Sivadier and Simon Goubert), Philippe Dardelle (contrabass, from the CV Trio and Offering albums too) and Vander himself (drums, piano) in what is a very acoustic, very airy sounding set. The bootleg quality sound grows a bit tiresome, but the highlights of the four tracks included make it worth the money for the diehard Magma fan. Those highlights are the excerpt from "Zess" and the short (well, fifteen minutes) summary of "Wurdah Itah". The sparse instrumental backing paired with the dense vocal arrangements will take some getting used to. The real thrill is the apparent interest Vander still has for this music in the '90's. Christian Vander / Offering - "A Fiieh" The third and most recent Offering album appeared in 1993, with a line-up more full than the previous two Offerings. It should be no surprise that Stella Vander, Isabelle Feullebois, Philippe Dardelle, and Emmanuel Borghi appear here, but the usual group is augmented by four other percussionists, four vocalists, and one more keyboardist. The opener, "Hymne Kobaien", is a somber yet delicate synth/organ largo which almost feels like an homage or benediction. It should be noted that Vander doesn't step behind the drum kit at all on this Offering, but rather forfeits that role to Marc Delouya on the two of seven tracks that contain vocals. "A Fiieh" may have more focus than the previous two albums in this vein, but the style here is decidedly more minimalist, darker, and even more symphonic ("Cosmos"). The exception, however, is also the longest track on the album, "Purificatem". This one is a long, jazzy, drone that noodles around too much without really going anywhere. This track is much more at home with the first two Offering albums. Nevertheless, because of the strength of the first 5 tracks, this is probably the strongest Offering album and it contains some of the very best post-Magma music written by Vander. Christian Vander Trio - "65!" Don't be fooled by the title of this one. It's the second (and latest) album by the Christian Vander Trio and not a re-release of Vander out-takes from 1965 (although that in itself would be a collectors item!). The title "65!" refers to the jazz spirit of 65 (a la Coltrane and the like). The album was knocked off in 2 days, and has a clean live and very spontaneous feel to it. The band consists of Vander on drums along with pianist Emmanuel Borghi and bassist Philippe Dardelle. The all-acoustic set consists of Vander's title track "65!" (two interpretations of it, no less), a host of Coltrane covers, a Pharaoh Sanders tune (another saxophonist from the '60's), and one tune by Gracham Moncur III. The other two original compositions were penned by Borghi and are completely within the spirit of the album. Some may compare this to Chick Corea's Akoustic Band album, but the sound here is perhaps less driving and more free. Vander's spirit pervades the music as usual, with a lot of emphasis on piano/drum interplay while the bass takes a busy backseat as a rule. While completely a jazz effort, fans of Vander will appreciate the drumming and lively spirit of "65!" and marvel at the depth of Vander's musical vocabulary. Christian Vander - "Les Voyages De Christophe Colomb" This is not so much a solo album as it is a narrative with some backing music. All of the music is performed by Christian Vander on synthesizers (which were programmed accordingly by Stella Vander). For the most part it consists of gentle strings, lead horn lines, flute samples, and other orchestral typicals. While this plays smoothly in the background, Vander narrates the story of Christopher Columbus (in French) at sporadic intervals, which also makes this feel less like a true album for the non-French speaking listener. The fact that this was released on Vander's homebrew label (AKT) also suggests that it is not meant to be taken as a true solo album, but rather a chapter in the history of Christian Vander's body of work. Basically this one is for the completist.
(Originally published in Exposé #8, p. 12-13; Edited for Gnosis 1/20/01)
